How can I format the date of a collection item field in custom code?

Design help Custom code
1

I am trying to add a countdown timer to a page. The date to which it should countdown will depend on the CMS Collection Item for the page. I can’t figure out how to set the date to the proper time. This is as close as I have gotten:

var timer;
// CURRENT DATE AND TIME
var now = new Date();
var then = new Date("<Start Time>"); // <Start Time> is added as a field from the CMS item

var compareDate = new Date(then) - now.getDate();

Screen Shot 2022-05-09 at 4.39.01 PM
Screen Shot 2022-05-09 at 4.39.01 PM1246×448 111 KB

In the published site, this is rendered as:

    var timer;
    // CURRENT DATE AND TIME
    var now = new Date();
    var then = new Date("May 10, 2022");

    var compareDate = new Date(then) - now.getDate();

The problem is that the date field has a time, but that is not reflected. How can I specify the format of the field as it is inserted in the custom code?

Here is my site Read-Only: LINK
(how to share your site Read-Only link)

2

@Ben_Norris - can you share a published link to this page?